9to5Mac Reviews

My audio tastes run more toward the mid-range (or a little higher), but I of course recognize that some people want something basic at a pocket-friendly price.

But with Apple dropping the headphone socket from iPhones and iPads, things are getting a little more complicated for those who don’t want the expense or charging hassle of wireless headphones …

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If you’re looking for a Thunderbolt 3-enabled external display, then LG is pretty much where it’s at. Not only does the Korean company produce the 34-inch 5K2K UltraWide Display, which is great for creative professionals, but it also produces an LG UltraFine 4K Display with Thunderbolt 3 in tow.

Not to be confused with the 21.5-inch 4K UltraFine Display that’s sold in Apple Stores, this 32-inch display comes with Thunderbolt 3, and features the familiar LG design language found on many of the displays within the company’s lineup.

Is the LG UltraFine 4K Monitor worth considering for those looking to add an external display to their desktop setup? Watch our hands-on video review for the details.
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Earlier this year, a new keyboard launched that fills an interesting gap in the market: slim mechanical keyboards for Mac. The Keychron K1 offers a clean aluminum design, an RGB or white backlit Mac key layout, USB-C for charging, and more. Read on for our full review.

Less than a decade ago, a desktop drawing tablet was an essential tool for just about every professional digital artist. More recently, the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and other competing products like the Microsoft Surface line have given creative professionals a range of affordable and portable options to consider. Still, many artists consider dedicated graphics tablets the gold standard for illustration and design. Leading the industry is Wacom, known for its line of Cintiq pen displays. For 2019, Wacom has released the entry-level Cintiq 16, and I’ve been testing how it compares to an 11-inch iPad Pro and Apple Pencil 2.

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Apple is often both praised and criticized for being a “luxury” tech brand, particularly now that iPhone prices have breached the $1,000 threshold. MacBooks, iPads, Apple Watches — they all look expensive and stylish, in addition to being functional. With so many people shelling out big dollars for the newest gadgets, luxury accessories-makers have decided they want a piece of the action, too.

“Luxury” is relative, though. At the ultra-high end are products like the titanium Gray Aurora iPhone case, which retails for a whopping $3,787. Then there are premium accessories with high price tags, but aren’t too high. The question is whether it’s worth splurging on a nice leather messenger bag when your trusty old backpack works just as well.

I set out to answer that question (at least partially). In my quest to find some of the best leather bags and cases, I was surprised by the sheer number of companies playing in the space. There are loads of options, and I couldn’t review all — or even most — of them. Instead, I picked four products that caught my eye. All of these were purchased outright, except for the Blake Leather Folio, which was sent to me to review. I received no financial incentives, compensation, or discounts from any of these companies.

With that out of the way, let’s get started.

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As announced last month, the Eve Flare is now available to buy in the US, and I’ve been testing one for the last week or so.

It’s a spherically shaped multicolor mood light that illuminates in either shades of white or most RGB colors. You can control it with Siri through HomeKit, which of course means you get the fun of shouting colors at your HomePod to change the lighting in the room. Read below for my full hands on …

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I love music. I couldn’t imagine life without it, and for something which brings me so much pleasure, I’m willing to pay for decent quality.

But I’ve always said that I have mid-range ears. Give me a Bang & Olufsen system in the low single-digit thousands, or something at the bottom end of the Naim range, and I’m a very happy man. Anything beyond that is wasted on me. And, indeed, for casual listening, stereo-paired HomePods hit the spot; to me, they sound way better than they have any right to at that price level.

When it comes to headphones, I mostly use my B&W P5 Wireless, or my Master & Dynamic MW07, each of which comes in at $300 and sounded perfect to me …

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Apple’s products have been something of a boon to the premium leather industry. There’s a significant overlap between those who appreciate the aesthetics of Apple devices, and those who find leather a beautiful material – in both cases, willing to pay a premium for a quality product.

That’s something Apple itself has exploited, of course. Apple will happily sell you a variety of leather accessories for its products, from a Pencil Case through iPhone covers to sleeves for iPad and MacBook Pro.

But there’s also a whole slice of the leather industry working exclusively or partly on making leather accessories for iDevices …

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Updated prototype issues, below. See also our comparison of the 11-inch model with Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio.

I can never understand how Apple can make such fantastic tablets, and such terrible keyboards for them.

Ok, perhaps ‘terrible’ is an exaggeration, but the latest Smart Keyboard Folio for the 12.9-inch iPad is – like the first – a distinctly average typing experience, and a pretty cheap-looking hunk of plastic …

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This week we are entering the wild world of Teenage Engineering’s OP-Z. The tiny little portable gadget is essentially its own music making platform with built-in instruments. However, it is also capable of sequencing photos, unity 3D video, lighting rigs and more. Along with its beautiful hardware design, OP-Z uses your iOS devices as a display (among other things) and plays nice with your Mac too. Head below for a closer look.
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Update: We’ve now received a number of reader complaints about this company, suggesting the company has not fulfilled crowdfunded orders ahead of public ones, and difficulties exchanging faulty products.

It’s now almost a year-and-a-half since Apple first teased AirPower, a multi-coil charger that lets you place your iPhone, Apple Watch or (as yet also fictitious) wireless AirPods case anywhere on the charging mat. We’re still no closer to knowing when it will actually be available.

Hard Cider Labs created a kind of poor man’s version last year, in the form of SliceCharge. That one didn’t have AirPower’s USP – overlapping coils that let you put your phone anywhere on the mat – but the new version does …

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I described the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 as the best-value iPhone gadget available at the time, and I still think it’s an incredibly impressive piece of kit for the money. With the Osmo Pocket, DJI has aimed to shrink down those same capabilities into a truly pocketable device …

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While I try to live a paperless life, it’s not quite possible to get away from the stuff entirely. For example, returning packages mostly means printing a label (though there are some exceptions now), and there are still a few companies that insist on etickets being presented in paper form.

But when you only print a handful of pages a month, it doesn’t make sense to have a large printer – nor one that draws attention to itself. So I was curious to try the HP Tango X, a compact AirPrint-compatible printer which does its best to disguise itself as a book when not in use …

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A second monitor is one of the best productivity boosts you can get when using a MacBook Pro, but most monitors are not exactly portable. The Taihe Gemini is.

There are apps you can get to use an iPad as an external monitor, but a crowd-funded campaign has gone one better, offering a 15-inch portable monitor to match the size of the largest MacBook Pro screen. Unlike most existing portable monitors, it’s battery-powered, making for a truly mobile setup …

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When Ecovacs saw how much I loved the Neato D7 Connected robot vacuum cleaner, it seemed an obvious pitch to try to sell me on a review of the Winbot X window-cleaning robot.

I’m not exactly a hard sell on smart home tech, given two principles to which I subscribe. First: if something can be automated, it should be automated. Second: any excuse to use a gadget …

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Clean cable management with smart speakers can be challenging, especially with small speakers that you might place in space-constrained areas. The new Echo Dot makes this harder than the first two generations due to the power supply switching to an all-in-one brick and cable solution from the old Micro USB cable and run-of-the-mill USB brick combination. The solution? Mounting the Echo Dot.

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Ugreen makes a range of great Apple accessories, and I recently came across one of my favorite ones to date. The 10000mAh Power Bank offers wireless charging for iPhone as well as USB-C PD for input and output and a standard USB-A port for fast charging. Read on for our full look at this useful, flexible, and affordable power bank for iPhone and iPad.

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Apple has yet to release its wireless charging AirPods case or AirPower itself, but that isn’t stopping third-party accessory makers from releasing their own take on the idea. The latest attempt to bring wireless charging to AirPods comes from East Brooklyn Labs, a small accessory maker based in New York.

Dubbed SliQ, this AirPods wireless charging case is available in white, black, pink, and blue. The case costs $25 and is available now. Read on for our full review.

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I love my 12.9-inch iPad Pro, but there were two things that disappointed me: Apple doesn’t offer a Smart Cover for it, and its Smart Folio case isn’t available in leather.

No third-party company yet offers an equivalent product, but if you’re looking for a high-quality leather case or sleeve for your iPad, there are options out there – and I tried two of them …

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Belkin’s Boost Up Special Edition Wireless Charging Dock for iPhone + Apple Watch (plus an extra USB port) is exclusively available through Apple or direct from the manufacturer. We’ve been testing out this charging solution and even if AirPower was available, it would give it a run for its money. Considering that AirPower’s future is still a mystery, follow along for why those holding out for Apple’s charging solution should consider Belkin’s take on a three-device charging station.

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